If you were to buy a 12 Cylinder Exotic/Classic what would it be?

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HHGT

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I've always loved the 12 Cylinder Italian cars and their sweet exhaust note but never cared for their maintenance costs.

So if you wanted to buy a 12 cylinder Exotic/Classic performance car with minimal maintenance costs and under $100K what would you buy?
 
Under a 100K? Do they exist?

Personally I would get a 512BB carbed or fuel injected. I think they are in the $125K range though.
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Is there so a thing? Used exotic v12 with minimal maintenance???


If you take the maintenance requirement out of the equation:
I would go with a kit car of the v12 60's era 250 gto!
2nd choice would be the 550/575, or wait 5+ years and get the 599 when it drops below 100k...
3rd would be the aston vanquish.
 
I still reflect back on my time with the TR and the 512 ......... and I smile

Shadowman
 
Unfortunately, classic and minimal maintenance costs don't go together. I know this all too well.
I'm not sure if the Maserati Ghibli is a 12cyl - looks great to me. I suspect maintenance would be a PITA though, like most.
 
Not a 12 cylinder, but I would look for an O.S.C.A., built by the Maserati brothers after they sold to Count Orsi and family.
 
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550 with the 6 speed manual.
 
I love the look of the 575 and the couple I drove were very fun. Nobody really ever does a long term test on an exotic......except ENZO BTR and our friends from edmunds. They bought a 2001 550 Maranello. Here is the link.

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/longterm/articles/49771/article.html

On the left of the article you can see entries in order from the different people who drove the car for three years. Supposedly the 575's were a huge leap in quality and they can be had for a relatively reasonable price. The routine maintenance cost scared me off though.

Unlike most of the cars they test they did not do a summary when they sold it. I told ENZO BTR that I was interested in what happened as I was following their articles while I was trying to talk myself into one. He stated they sold it for roughly 50 percent of purchase price if I remember correctly. Then the GT came out, they did a long term test on it and that was that. Reliable car mid-engine with reasonable maintenance. I was hooked. I told him before but the info from that long term test went a long way towards convincing me that the GT was the one. Thanks again edmunds and ENZO BTR!! :lol :cheers
 
Not an exotic/classic....but how about an 04-05 Bentley Cont GT. Easily $60K. Might pickup an 07 GTC (conv) for just a tad over $100K.

Old Ferrari BB would be nice as well as an old Jag V-12 Convert.....but OMG...the maintenance...especially on those carbs. 6cyl Jag covered headlight much preferred to me. Again....that's why I prefer the "newer" collector/unique cars. The old ones are simply not comparable and a royal pain.
 
Not particularly exotic, but more reliable than most Italian V12, is the BMW 850i. You could buy several of these for $100K or better, you could get the limited edition Ci that is as close to an M model BMW made and are collectible. I had a '93 850i and loved it. Very smooth!
 
Hotwheels said:
Not particularly exotic, but more reliable than most Italian V12, is the BMW 850i. You could buy several of these for $100K or better, you could get the limited edition Ci that is as close to an M model BMW made and are collectible. I had a '93 850i and loved it. Very smooth!
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Or even better, an 850 CSi.......6 speed manual.

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HHGT said:
So if you wanted to buy a 12 cylinder...with minimal maintenance costs and under $100K...
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The latter is possible. The FORMER - 'pipe dream.
 
2112, you're right, I forgot the "S". CSi is what I meant to type. I should have previewed my post first. I think they made about 100 for the N. American market. The car I had was Ci.
 
Hotwheels said:
2112, you're right, I forgot the "S". CSi is what I meant to type. I should have previewed my post first. I think they made about 100 for the N. American market. The car I had was Ci.
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I owned a CSi briefly. Fast and luxurious, not a sports car. I am sure it was fantastic on the autobahn.

Sold it when I saw the Z07 (Z8) prototype.
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I know they're not brilliant cars, but a V12 E-Type would be fun.... Until it stopped.
 
Not Italian but a 12cyl Jaguar might hold its value and is a classic.

On a related note, I purchased a 65 Corvette with the 375hp fuel injected engine last year. I find that I drive it more than the GT. I don't worry about parking it, parts are reasonable and performance is pretty good. Its fixable and probably always will be.

Fast in a 60s car is anything over 80mph whereas in a modern sports car it is well over 100. I expect that this will keep me out of a lot of trouble.
 
Neilda said:
I know they're not brilliant cars, but a V12 E-Type would be fun.... Until it stopped.
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Aaaaaaaaaaaaah yes...likely stopped by The Prince of Darkness...?

I've always liked the looks of an "E" rdstr/convert with the top down. 'Soooooooooooooo darn kool lookin'.
 
Reliability and cost aside, 12 Cyl E-Types just dont sound as good as Italian 12s. How much maintenance with an occasional drive Testarossa? They seem to have hit bottom.
 
HHGT said:
Reliability and cost aside, 12 Cyl E-Types just dont sound as good as Italian 12s. How much maintenance with an occasional drive Testarossa? They seem to have hit bottom.
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I agree Sam. Ferrari V-12s have the most incredible exhaust note....even the V-8s....yes, even better sounding than a Ford GT. Ferrari exhaust is just intoxicating....like no other. Just like a beautiful, high maintenance gf that lives 150 miles away .... there is no local Ferrari dealer here....as I'm sure is the case for many owners. Kind of a pain for parts and service...and with the GT being a Ford it's a piece of cake. Heck, blow the motor up and put in a used Ford Lightning engine lol. As with any exotic car I think they can be, and are, over maintained. The most important thing on a Ferrari would be the timing belt. If you have an independent mechanic that is competent and doesn't break it off in you then a Ferrarri wouldn't be so bad. I would pass on all the "suggested" maintenance, Just treat it like a regular car and it would be fine. Change the oil with synthetic every 5K miles (doesnt matter if it takes 5yrs), pass on the brake & radiator flushes and just enjoy. If you track it, then yes to the brake flush. Drive it....don't let it sit. Biggest problem with a Ferrari would be resale. All the anal buyers want that "perfect" documented car. They want the Ferrari books & service stamps up to date with the 15K & 30K services performed. You might consider buying a stamp and "document" the books yourself lol. Prolly get a stamp "Autohaus Foreign Car Service" for just a few bucks on the internet.
 
Get an old Pantera ($35k) and new MV Agusta. You'll have your 12 Italian cylinders and a chunk of change for repairs and race gas. BAM, problem solved.
 
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